This invention relates to a pillow which can be used to absorb some of the energy created by deep breathing, coughing, sneezing, or hiccuping and thereby prevent movement of the chest or abdomen in a manner which causes stress at a surgical site located therein, and yet permit the full expansion necessary for the event to occur in its normal manner.
After a patient has undergone thoracic, open heart or abdominal surgery, taking a deep breath, coughing, sneezing or hiccuping can be an extremely painful experience. Yet such events are necessary to help remove fluids from the respiratory system in order to reduce the incidences of respiratory complications following these surgeries.
The pain comes not from the deep breath, cough, or sneeze itself, but from the expansion of the chest or abdominal cavity in a manner which places stress on the surgical site. Thus, if movement of the chest or abdominal cavity can be caused to occur in a way which does not stress the surgical site, sneezing or hiccuping can take place without excessive pain. In the past attempts have been made to achieve this result by clutching a pillow or similar soft compressible object against the surgical site. While clutching conventional pillows may provide some relief, the degree of relief often is limited and varies. This is because a conventional pillow will absorb little shock in this type of situation. If the user clutches the pillow sufficiently close to his or her body to be of any use it often will collapse or become disformed and lose its compressibility. The pillow, then, acts only as a cushion and if any shock is absorbed it will be absorbed by the user's arms. Consequently, the use of a conventional pillow usually either suppresses the cough completely or permits expansion of the chest or abdominal cavity in a manner which places stress on the surgical site. Even if a normal pillow is made stiff enough to provide some shock absorbing capability, after a cough or sneeze has occurred the user will completely compress the pillow as part of the reaction to the cough or sneeze and the pillow will be of no value for subsequent coughs or sneezes when they closely follow the first.
The subject invention overcomes the foregoing problem by providing a pillow having shock absorbing and quick recovery capability. This is accomplished by using a foam core which is encapsulated in a membrane which is impervious to air. A series of holes are placed in the membrane to permit air to pass through it when the core is compressed and again when it expands after having been compressed. By limiting the total area of these holes to a predetermined value, the rate at which air flows through them can be controlled. Thus, the pillow also will compress at a controlled rate, which is slower than would occur with a normal pillow.
The core and membrane are covered with a cushion which is made from a foam material that is softer than the foam used in the core. The cushion provides firmness in the pillow and permits it to be held against the user's chest or abdominal cavity without compressing the core.
The cushion is covered by a polyester retention layer which conforms to the user's body and makes the pillow more comfortable. The retention layer also prevents the cushion from becoming bunched and permits the cover of the pillow to move relative to the cushion.
The outer layer of the pillow is a nonwoven fabric ticking which holds all of the other elements in place. Since the ticking is nonabsorbent it is easy to clean if fluids are spilled on the outer surface.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a pillow which has shockabsorbing capability.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a pillow wherein the rate at which it can be compressed is limited to a predetermined level.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a pillow which limits movement of the chest or abdominal cavity in the region of a surgical site and yet allows full expansion of the remainder of the chest or abdominal cavity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a pillow which is firm and supportive when squeezed against the user's chest or abdominal cavity.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a pillow that conforms comfortably to the user's body.
The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.